Pacha was a one and a half year old coyote, a part of Happy Tales Animal Sanctuary, an ambassador for all coyotes to educate people about the misconceptions about these beautiful animals. He was sweet, gentle, would play with our three other dogs and his best friend was our miniature horse Uku. He would sleep on our couch most nights. His name means “space and time.”

We adopted Pacha in June of 2011 when he was six weeks old; if we didn’t adopt him he would have been euthanized. There are very few facilities in NYS that are licensed to keep native wildlife, Sun Qu HAS is one of those few. We spent countless sleepless nights with this adorable fur ball, he was like a puppy on steroids, endless amounts of energy, relentless, all worth it. We nurtured him back to health; when we got him the woman who found him was feeding him hot dogs and apple juice.

Her children would play with him like a rag doll, his spine needed healing, we provided that for him as well. We literally watched him change into a coyote, and a handsome one at that. The amount of love and energy we gave Pacha was immeasurable and so was the love and energy he gave back to us. We were honored he chose us to be his guardians. He changed many people’s opinions about coyotes after meeting him, he changed many lives including our own.

On November 5th 2012 our neighbors lured him out of his dwelling with a deer head, foot trapped him and then proceeded to torture and eventually, kill him. Our vet examined his body and filled out a “torture report” for us to give to the police. They knew he was ours; their children would come over to see “our coyote.” There was never a complaint filed, they never thought to talk to us.

Our neighbor was scared there was a coyote living in the neighborhood and two families took it into their own hands to rid the neighborhood of this scary animal. Pacha wouldn’t hurt a fly, was afraid of strangers, he even lived in the same house as our cat, who would swat him in the face if he got too close, Pacha would back away. He was more than a coyote to us, he was our friend and family member, a teacher. He didn’t deserve to be tortured nor does any animal deserve that type of treatment. He is missed by many, many hearts have been broken. It was traumatizing to have to release his foot from the trap and see our beautiful friend lifeless, his beautiful face stained with blood. To have to carry his corpse home knowing we would never receive kisses from him again, never see him nestled up against us on the couch, never see him laying in our back yard, never greet us with his howling and yelping like only a coyote can do.

All the proper authorities were notified, we had lawyers hard at work, and many people are rallying to help get JUSTICE FOR PACHA! Unfortunately, the law let us, and Pacha down but we hope his story will inspire others and help to spread proper knowledge about coyotes.

We love you Pacha and will make this world a better place for beings like you, in your honor and in your name. We are proud he chose us to make a difference, good will come out of this! When the tears stop falling and dry from our cheeks, we will still be standing even stronger, our hearts smile when we think of you, they can never kill the smile. We will fight a clean fight. We love you and we know you know it.

Being a part of Happy Tales Animal Sanctuary includes both great joy and great loss. Sadly, on 8/12/12, my “golden girl” Madison crossed the rainbow bridge. She was and is the inspiration for this sanctuary and the very reason these animals have a home. Her light, strength, and love pushed me to do the impossible and as hard as it is to get up without her, I will continue this work in her honor. The words to give her the proper tribute simply do not exist as she was so much bigger than the words.

Maddie’s love and light has touched so many. On the surface it may appear that I saved her life, the truth is, she saved mine. She will live on forever through the love we shared. I am eternally grateful for the time that I have spent with her and for the priceless lessons she has taught, and will continue to teach me. While the pain of her physical absence is still with me, I know her light will shine through me forever. Thank you to everyone who shared their love and support through one of the most difficult times in my life. Her presence made an impact on so many.

Thank you for sending Michelle today the children had a blast. Not to mention she did an outstanding job with handling all the children. I spoke to her and she told me that Madison passed away on Sunday.. I’m sorry for your loss :(.. But I feel the need to share with you how much Madison touched my lil Madi’s heart. It is because of Madison she wants to be a vet. Trust me this is not a 10 yr old picking a career. She’s very sure and it’s been 2 yrs. She always talks about Madi and how soft and cuddly she was. And not to mention her eyes, she always tells me that Madie smiled at her when she first saw her. I want to thank you for not giving up on her when everyone else did.. In her brief stay here Madison made an impact on many lives including my Madison. And I thank you for that. She now wants to have every animal she can possibly have. And for some reason she keeps comparing the animals to madie.. Not the behavior but the look in her eyes. I guess it was the love, understanding, compassion and just the love of life my Madison saw in Madies eyes. Once again I thank you for sharing Madison with us and for not giving up on her when everyone did. She was a reflection of your love.

Elizabeth

“Boomer” was taken in from Buffalo in September 2007. He came to us as a shy but lovable guy. Shortly after settling in here he turned into this incredibly outgoing, affectionate wallaby. He brought so much light and love to our lives. Watching him hop around brought us hours of endless joy…and then him curling up in our laps when he was done playing melted our hearts. The look on people’s faces when he would pop his little head out of his pouch was absolutely priceless. On February 22, 2008 “Boomer” crossed the rainbow bridge from a medical complication completely out of our hands. If love alone could have saved him, he would surely still be here. Our hearts ache everyday to have him back. He will be forever apart of our hearts and souls and we will miss him until the day we meet again on the other side. We love you “Boom”…hop along and we’ll see you soon!

“Grasshopper” was rescued with his brother “Jellybean” in 2005. Together, they changed many people’s perceptions of rats. Their level of intelligence never ceased to amaze us or anyone who met them. They quickly became celebrities, starring in movies such as “American Gangster” and “Enchanted”. His passing touched us deeply and showed us once again how incredible animals are. On February 25, 2007 (3 days after Boomer had passed) he suffered from a stroke. Nicole immediately saw something was off with him and held him in her arms. Through tearful eyes she asked him to hold on for just a week as she couldn’t handle losing another one of her babies so shortly after losing “Boom”. Miraculously, he survived exactly one week longer and passed away in his sleep on March 3, 2008. What an incredible amount of understanding and compassion he showed his “Mommy” before he crossed the rainbow bridge. We love you “Grasshopper”…thank you for teaching us and so many others.

“Kumari” was rescued from a neglectful situation early in 2007. She had an abscess the size of a golf ball on the side of her left jaw and was emaciated. Amazingly, with a lot of TLC and excellent surgery by our veterinarian Dr. Hess, she pulled through all of that beautifully. We only had her for 9 short months when she passed away in November 2007. Her body had just been too beat up and finally gave out. We are happy that she was able to live the remainder of her life out here where she was happy, comfortable, and most importantly, loved.